A mass movement of school students is shaking the Macron government – and they are not fighting alone, reports John Rees

Over 400 schools across France have been shut by student blockades in recent days. The protests have been met with repression from France’s notorious riot police.

The students are protesting over a lack of teachers and staff, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings. Yesterday university students also joined demonstrations, closing down 30 campuses across the country. 

The blockades and protests at French lycées – for 15 to 18-year-old students – began last week before spreading to hundreds of schools across the country. So far, 1,027 schools have been affected by demonstrations, with blockades at 222 of them.

The riot police crackdown has resulted in nearly 2,000 arrests, according to the French interior ministry. Tear gas canisters fired at close range have resulted in one student losing an eye. Another lost his teeth when a canister was fired at point blank range.

While the police make mass arrests and tear gas the students, the French government is waging a propaganda war against the protests. The government claims the student protests have descended into ‘urban violence’ which has caused injury to over 300 police officers and caused ‘significant damage’ to school facilities. Classes are now taking place remotely, the French education minister has said.

But the students aren’t fighting alone. After a summer of trying to contain wildfires France’s fire fighters have protested alongside students, and they have been joined by school workers and civil servants. In Paris last Tuesday they marched against lack of funding and resources and in opposition to planned budget cuts. Firefighters were also denouncing the lack of resources allotted by the government to combat massive wildfires in the country during the summer.

The government proposes freezing the salaries of state employees in 2027 in a bid to save 2 billion euros in spending — the fourth consecutive annual freeze and the eighth during Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. Unions argue the freezes have resulted in a double-digit loss of purchasing power.

But one area of government spending is enjoying a huge boost. France plans to add a further 36 billion euros to its defence spending between now and 2030 under an updated military planning law which will expand France’s nuclear arsenal and missile and drone stocks. Highlighting the need to reinforce troop numbers, Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin said France aims to recruit 50,000 military reservists by 2030, bringing to 330,000 the total number of military personnel.   

None of this is doing anything for the government’s standing with voters. Opinion polls consistently show the deep unpopularity of President Emmanuel Macron and his centre-right-leaning government.

A new Presidential election is months away. The radical left party, the LFI, led by Jean Luc Melanchon, is surging in the polls. But the far-right RN led by Marine Le Pen is a threatening presence with widespread support. 

French society is at a watershed. Whether the left or the right win out will shape not only French politics, but the whole European continent’s politics, for years to come.